The 73-year-old who was born in Paris and who moved as a child to the Polish city of Krakow before it was occupied by the Nazis received his award at the ceremony on Saturday night in Warsaw.

The Pianist and Tess filmmaker said as he collected his award: “It’s a moving moment for me to receive this award, particularly in Warsaw. Only good things happen to me in this city. When I was working in a theatre as a child in Krakow after the war, we came here once and I won an award at a festival.”